Tribes and Traditions (and the new DVD).

Tribes and Traditions (and the new DVD).

Tribes and Traditions (and the new DVD).2010-09-142010-09-14http://x.bodytribe.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/full-logo.jpgBodytribehttp://x.bodytribe.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/full-logo.jpg200px200px

Our big party bus, the modern American tribe, doesn’t have to rely on dusty traditions to keep its wheels turning. Marriage, gender roles, traditional hierarchies… none serve the role of cultural durability that made them so supposedly gosh darn crucial the thousands of years before us. Choosing to hold onto them is simply that… a choice. Not a requirement for perceived tribal survival.

So for every pundit of the good ol’ days rallying around the flag of ‘traditional values’, there is someone who, although not entirely conscious of their path, is stepping away from previous societal habits and dancing a different jig, since the bounty and growth of the tribe is no longer dependent on the original, time-honored-but-kinda-boring steps.

Out of this grows the fungus of smaller, more intimate tribes, folks who agree on new standards for the fuel of their new improved party bus.

Oh, some of the classics are still crucial… being nice to each other, filling bellies, fair and just dialog… symptoms of the successful tribal existence (which I’ve blabbed about before): sustainability, communication and equality. But when a tradition exists that is superfluous to the evolution of the tribe then holding onto it (or not) is, or at least should be, an individual decision.

Worse, though, is the tradition that actually contradicts current society empowerment. Our current political/cultural structure is rife with these, no matter what side you’re standing on. But that little diatribe will be for a different day. I’m putting the soapbox away after one more little observation.

Strength doesn’t slip into the role of gratuitous tradition! it is still essential. There hasn’t been made yet a good case for being weak.

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(Brent, Gregory, Allyson and me. Photo by Rachel Carpenter)

A tribe is not always simple geography, or so we hope. Several of our folks have left or are leaving. Film guy and aspiring competitive weightlifter Rob Fatal is hitting the road next month, re-rooting in Oakland. Longtime Bodytribers Brent Steiner and Greg Dorado have both stretched their tendrils to new ground, Greg at Cal Arts down south and Brent to a new home in Portland.

Keep the fires burning bright, my friends. Can’t say I’ll miss ya though, since we’ll be seeing all of you again soon.